


he motivate me (yeah that’s my baby), he really hear me when my body talk

by youareiron_andyouarestrong



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Competence Kink, F/M, Mutual Pining, Rebelcaptain Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 16:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17247428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youareiron_andyouarestrong/pseuds/youareiron_andyouarestrong
Summary: Cassian is not a man given to false modesty. If he says he’s good at something, he is good at something.Jyn appreciates this. She likes that he can back up what he says he can do. That there’s no unnecessary fanfare or bragging about it.It’s…surprisingly attractive.





	he motivate me (yeah that’s my baby), he really hear me when my body talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sempaiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sempaiko/gifts).



****

Cassian is not a man given to false modesty. If he says he’s good at something, he is  _ good  _ at something. Whether it’s slicing, piloting, coding, or anything else that falls in his (not inconsiderable) skill set. He’s not boastful or arrogant about it. If he can do something, he’ll do it. 

Jyn appreciates this. She likes that he can back up what he says he can do. That there’s no unnecessary fanfare or bragging about it. Sometimes he reminds her a little of Solo, with his absolute confidence in his skills. (Unlike Solo, however, Cassian can actually back up what he says.)

It’s…surprisingly attractive. 

Jyn doesn’t really think she has a  _ type  _ of being she’s attracted to in particular, not really. She’s never been allowed the time, or the headspace to dedicate to, thinking about it in any great depth. 

Unless the being in question is, of course, Cassian. 

There is  _ something  _ about the way he can command a room, if he wants to. He’s not like Mothma or Draven or even Leia. No, her Cassian is dark fire, a quiet sureness. True, she’s overheard enough rebels to know that he scares or unnerves most people, especially those who don’t know him very well (which is almost everyone not in Intelligence), but Jyn… well.  _ Danger  _ is a relative term. And Cassian  _ is  _ dangerous, make no mistake. But it’s the kind of danger that sings in her blood rather than puts her on edge. 

His spine and leg haven’t fully recovered yet from the fall on Scarif, so for the time being, Command has placed him on training duty.  _ Nannying,  _ Kay called it with all the contempt his servers could load into it, and Bodhi had choked on his red bean bun so hard Baze had to thump him on the back several times before he could find the right air passage. 

“Can’t really, um, picture Cassian nannying,” Bodhi had finally managed to wheeze out, scrubbing at his watering eyes with the sleeve of his flight suit. 

“Teaching the youth is a noble calling,” Chirrut had said cheerfully, using the pilot’s distraction to gracefully steal a portion of Bodhi’s abandoned bun onto his plate. “No doubt the Captain will be exemplary at it.” 

“They giggle,” Baze rumbled, serving Bodhi more tea to make up for his thieving guardian. “At the Captain. They think he’s一” he paused deliberately, making everyone’s head turn his direction to await his next word. “ _ Dashing. _ ”

Bodhi had lost control of his tea altogether as Jyn bit the inside of her cheek to bleeding to keep from laughing helplessly at Cassian’s expression, the very tips of his ears growing quite red. 

“Cassian can cover a remarkable amount of ground when he is properly motivated,” Kay had said, at his most pedantic. “But I fail to see why his relative quickness would cause humor in anyone.”

“Oh jeez,” Bodhi got out, “who’s gonna tell him?”

“They’re not talking about my  _ speed,  _ Kay,” Cassian had said, clearly attempting to regain some control over the conversation, and thereby hopefully, ending it. 

“One would hope not,” Chirrut said easily. “The Captain’s stamina is of the utmost importance.”

Bodhi actually howled at this as Baze glared at Chirrut’s utterly guileless and completely innocent expression. “Was it something I said?”

“That’s it.” Baze stood up, hauling Chirrut away. “Come on, before you make the Captain take himself to the Outer Rim, to spare himself from your troublemaking.”

Chirrut allowed himself to be led away as Bodhi rested his head on the table, trying to catch his breath. Jyn pressed her toes against the sole of her boot very hard to keep herself from smiling or laughing, or even looking at Cassian’s face.

He was, no doubt, the most disarming and delightful shade of red.

Cassian’s  _ stamina _ wasn’t something she wanted to dwell too much on. At least, not in public. 

That had been about two days ago. Now she’s watching ( _ not  _ lurking, thanks Bodhi, no really  _ shut up _ ) in a converted storage room now training space. The young recruits are a mixed bunch, some human, some humanoid, some not. They move and talk and chatter, far too loud or noisy for anyone thinking about joining Intelligence. Jyn puts on her best unaffected, disinterested mask and waits for Cassian. She can see a few of them glance at her speculatively, but she ignores them. 

Cassian comes into the room unobtrusively, almost silently. He looks like any other officer with far more important things on his mind. 

They don’t know, Jyn thinks. They don’t know who he is, what he’s capable of. What he’s done, what he’s willing to do. 

But  _ she  _ does.  _ She _ knows. She’s the only being in the room who does.

And that thought gives her little shivers.

Cassian waits for their attention. He’s not exactly a drill sergeant, her Cassian. But when he speaks, he draws their notice. Cool, crisp, controlled. Giving them nothing but what he allows them to see. 

Jyn knows that he knows she’s there. Watching, observing. She’ll step in if it’s needed. Cassian glances her way, one eyebrow rising almost imperceptibly.  _ Are you going to chime in? _

She nonchalantly raises a shoulder.  _ If you need me. _

He gives her an almost invisible nod, and returns to directing the recruits. Jyn settles back to watch.  

*

After Scarif, after Alderaan, after the  _ Death Star _ , Command had asked for Cassian’s recommendation as to where to best place Jyn. He knew Draven was not so privately hoping he’d recommend her for something like Pathfinders, something far,  _ far  _ away from his former best Agent Fulcrum. But Cassian hadn’t obliged. 

_ She would do best in Intelligence. The best usage of her skill set is there. _

That was true. It  _ is _ true. Jyn’s abilities make her the ideal agent. It’s her personality that gets in the way of that. But after  _ everything,  _ Cassian knows in his heart he is too selfish, too coveting, to let Jyn go even for a moment. He  _ should  _ hate himself for thatーfor being weak enough to  _ want.  _

Instead, he looks at Jyn, idly swinging a truncheon in her hand, studying the small group of Pathfinders who’ve volunteered to spar with her. She’s wearing the new shirt she’s found in the quartermaster’s station, her hands taped up by Baze, and her feet bare. Her hair is up in it’s customary bun and her kyber crystal gleams at her throat. 

He looks at Jyn and  _ wants.  _

The first time he saw her fight, on Jedha, he’d been mesmerized by speed and strength and pure, brutal efficiency.  _ The odds of her killing you have increased, _ Kay had warned him later, in private. 

_ Not a bad way to go, _ he had thought then, having all that fire and strength focused on him. 

Now he just watches her, deftly moving in and out between assailants, her batons striking against flesh and bone. Spinning away from them, not graceful and elegant, like Chirrut might, but with strength and sureness and ferocity. It makes his belly clench and heart beat faster. 

Cassian knows he is not a good man. Good men don’t look at their partners and want them like they want air, or food. Good men don’t dream about their partners and covet every glance she sends his way, every tiny smile or raised eyebrow, or uplifted chin. 

But he hasn’t gotten to where he is by being a  _ good  _ man.


End file.
